KelTec

Sorry about your luck, everyone who left SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range any time throughout the day up until about 25 minutes before all of the action wrapped up. Because that is around when the folks at KelTec remembered that they had forgotten to uncase their latest contribution to to the firearms market: the RDB Survival Edition bullpup rifle.

We had just finally made our way to the the KelTec booth and finished being confused by why the KSG bullpup shotgun on the bench was obscenely long (it is because of the Germans, in case you were wondering, and it is called the KSG 25) when we heard the company reps start expressing concern over some piece of missing equipment. That missing piece of equipment happened to be a literal one-of-a-kind on earth prototype firearm that relatively few other humans have laid eyes on or had the opportunity to fire – including everyone else at the range day until Chad Enos and crew happened to locate it in a case under one of their shooting tables and pulled it out with minutes to spare during shooting hours, providing Team GunLink the opportunity to be the first to snap some photos and send some rounds downrange with it. Continue reading →

As part of our Kel-Tec P-11 Improvement Project, we wanted to do something about the trigger. If you aren’t familiar with this firearm, the trigger has some… character. As with many double-action only (DAO) pistols, the P-11 has a long, heavy (9-pound) trigger pull. This is because, without an external manual safety, that trigger pull acts as a safety. However, the heavy pull can wear out your trigger finger and doesn’t exactly encourage you to shoot box after box of ammo at the range. Our female shooter on this project had trouble with the heavy trigger, barely being able to squeeze off a shot.

The stock trigger on the P-11 is a sharply-curved plastic number that has some side-to-side wiggle, some pre-travel and significant over-travel. The sharp curve of the trigger allows enough space for a finger to drag between the trigger and the guard during reset, which can wear a raw spot or blister in the span of a short range trip. The top of the trigger also allows for a shooter to pinch their finger between the grip frame and the upper part of the trigger.

Don’t misunderstand – the stock trigger on the P-11 is certainly passable and many enjoy their pistol just fine without any modifications. However, there is a lot of room for improvement. Continue reading →

SHOT Show 2014 saw Kel-Tec add two new bullpups to their lineup that already includes the KSG shotgun and RFB in 7.62 NATO. Their latest offerings, the RDB and M43, bring the 5.56 caliber into the mix with standard AR-15 magazine compatibility. Built around the same steel frame and downward-ejecting, rotating bolt, piston operated bullpup action, the two are essentially the same firearm – albeit dressed in radically different furniture.

The RDB (for Rifle, Downward-ejecting, Bullpup) looks like something you would expect to come out of the Kel-Tec labs, wit its polymer furniture and familiar styling. This is the tactical model, featuring a picatinny rail for mounting your favorite optics and/or irons. The lightweight tactical RDB, with its aluminum and polymer parts, tips the scales at just 7 pounds.

Perfecting the Compact Pistol for Carry, Defense and the Range

Kel-Tec pistols are wildly popular for concealed carry and personal/home defense. According to ATF reports, Kel-Tec has produced an average of around 110,000 pistols per year for the past five years year (130,000 in 2009 alone) placing them solidly among the top manufacturers. Their USA-made pistols are available in a variety of calibers, each coming with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. A Kel-Tec representative couldn’t give us exact numbers but said that many of their models are “pushing or over a million already.”

However, along with these large numbers there are also a number of common complaints about the pistols. Some of these gripes include Continue reading →